Binance resumes withdrawals after $6.3bn cryptocurrency hack

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 1 Nov, 17:02 · Archive

Binance said on Sunday it would resume withdrawals following a $6.3 billion theft blamed on North Korea.

Binance began resuming customer withdrawals on Sunday morning, more than a day after hackers stole $6.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency from the platform in what outlets report as the largest crypto heist on record. The exchange had suspended all user withdrawals immediately after the attack to investigate the breach and secure its systems.

The company said it would restore access in phases, prioritising tokens based on user demand over the past week. By Sunday morning, Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Dogecoin and several other major cryptocurrencies were available for withdrawal, though Binance warned users might experience temporary delays due to traffic volume. A Binance spokesperson said the phased approach would allow each network and asset pair to be "restored carefully, with stability and security checks completed before access is reopened".

Binance pledged to absorb all losses from the theft, ensuring customers would not bear the financial impact. The company said it had set aside company funds to cover the stolen assets. France 24 reports the exchange has covered 95% of the losses, whilst CBS News and City AM report it has covered 90%, with the remaining amount consisting of less liquid tokens that take longer to source at scale.

On Saturday, the FBI confirmed that the hack was carried out by TraderTraitor, a group affiliated with North Korea. The FBI said it had observed the attackers converting stolen assets into Ethereum and expected the funds to be laundered further through decentralised finance and instant swap services. CBS News reports that TraderTraitor was also blamed for a $1.5 billion theft from the Bybit platform in February of the previous year.

Binance said the incident was contained and that it remained committed to resuming full service. The company stated that its work to restore the platform would continue beyond the initial reopening of withdrawals.

How it is being reported

• Binance resumes withdrawals following $6.3 billion breachThe cryptocurrency exchange said it's now covered 95% of the stolen assets.TechCrunch · 1 Nov, 16:20
• Binance resumes customer withdrawals after record $6.3bn hackBinance has allowed its customer to start withdrawing funds from the platform, as it begins to resume servies after a record $6.3bn hack. The cryptocurrency exchange was hit by the theft on Thursday, forcing it to suspend withdrawals as it raced to fix the platform and investigate how hackers breached the system. Binance began a [...]City AM · 1 Nov, 16:08
• Binance resumes withdrawals for some cryptocurrencies after heistThe exchange said it would resume withdrawals in phases, pending security checks.CBS News · 1 Nov, 10:35
• Binance says resuming withdrawals after major hackFrance 24 · 1 Nov, 07:01

In this story: Binance · FBI · North Korea · TraderTraitor · Bybit

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log